Two Scots still missing after Nepal earthquake
UK humanitarian volunteers join Nepal search-and-rescue mission
TWO Scots are among dozens of British and Irish people who have still not been traced in the wake of Saturday’s earthquake in Nepal – as the overall death toll surpassed 4,000.
Most of the 12 Scots on the International Committee of the Red Cross list of the missing in Nepal have been traced but two remain unaccounted for. They are John Aitkenhead, 61, who was last in contact several weeks ago before leaving to go trekking in Nepal and Dundee-born Lynda Davis, 50, of Bridge of Earn.
The Red Cross has said 90 Britons were missing, but 30 were found while the Foreign Office said it was not aware of any deaths or injuries.
Officials last night revised the death toll to more than 4,000 and more than 6,500 injured. The figure does not include full accounting from vulnerable mountain villages which rescue workers are still struggling to reach four days after the disaster. Britain is sending a team of Gurkha engineers to Nepal to help the disaster relief effort.
They will join humanitarian volunteers and emergency service crews from the UK who have already begun search and rescue operations in the stricken Himalayan state. They are flying out in an RAF C-17 transport aircraft packed with emergency supplies including more than 1,100 shelter kits and more than 1,700 solar lanterns.
International Development Secretary Justine Greening said the Government would also match the first £5 million made in public donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Earthquake Appeal.
HUMANITARIAN volunteers and emergency-service crews from the UK have begun a search-and-rescue mission in Nepal following the earthquake which killed more than 4,000 people and left more than 6,500 injured.
Nine out of ten Nepalese troops are said to be involved in searchand-rescue operations, as the country pleads for more foreign aid following the country’s worst earthquake disaster in more than 80 years.
Most of the 12 Scots on The International Committee of the Red Cross list of the missing in Nepal have been traced. Two Scots remain missing out of around 90 British and Irish people following the earthquake.
One of those originally listed was Darren Alexander Smith, 27, and girlfriend Fiona Lamont, 26, who have contacted family to let them know they are okay.
Another couple — Brian Allan and his partner Seobhan McGuigan, from Edinburgh — who were on the list were rescued by British Army Gurkhas after being stranded in Nepal.
Another on the missing dossier, Aberdonian backpacker Mitchell Carpenter, 23, contacted his family from Manang to confirm he and travelling companion Joe McMullen are safe and well.
Heather Chan, 34, who was trekking with friends in the Tsum region, contacted her mum Patricia, from Arbroath, to let her know she is fine.
Dundee-born Susan McDonald, 41, also reported missing, has told her parents, William and Ruth, in Stonehaven, she is okay.
Stirling-born Scot Matthew Thorne, 36, who was on Everest basecamp when the earthquake struck, used Facebook to reassure relatives.
Family of Ross Smith, 22, of Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway, confirmed he is “safe and well”. Another climber on Everest, James Grieve, 52, from Kinross, is alive and attempting to get off the mountain.
Those Scots who remain missing according to the ICRC included John Aitkenhead, 61, who was last in contact several weeks ago before leaving to go trekking in Nepal, and Dundee-born Lynda Davis, 50, of Bridge of Earn.
The Foreign Office said it had not received reports of any Britons being killed or injured but embassy staff have assisted 200 people. At least 17 people were killed on Mount Everest, with many more stranded.
Among those safe but stranded on the world’s highest mountain were Joseph Feeney, of Coatbridge, and Calum Henderson, of Edinburgh, both 21, were on a trekking trip to Nepal as a treat after passing their third-year exams.
Communication problems in the worst-affected areas mean families and friends around the world are still anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones. And international aid to the affected region has been prevented by flights being unable to land and huge traffic jams on the roads out of Kathmandu.
Aid workers reported “huge logistical difficulties” as road closures and communication problems have thwarted some efforts.
The Disasters Emergency Committee in Scotland is to announce its appeal to help survivors of the devastating Nepal earthquake.
The appeal has been boosted by a £250,000 donation from the Scottish government.
Leigh Daynes, UK director of medical charity Doctors of the World, said: “Nepal’s health system was vulnerable before the earthquake.
“Now hospitals are utterly incapacitated, infrastructure has been decimated and thousands of people are sleeping on the streets. With monsoon season only weeks away, this is a catastrophe of the highest order and demands an urgent medical response.
An RAF plane packed with supplies has been dispatched to the crisis zone, while charity workers, experts and firefighters from across the UK have already begun the search for survivors.
The 7.8-magnitude quake struck just before midday on Saturday, sending tremors through the Kathmandu Valley and the nearby city of Pokhara.
Mike Adamson, chief executive of the British Red Cross, said: “As the death toll continues to rise, it is our priority to continue the search- and-rescue operations and get aid to those left stranded.
“The Red Cross has been working in the Kathmandu Valley for the last three years.
Older infrastructure was not able to withstand the earthquake.”